


Swimming

by smarshtastic



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Gen, kid!Jim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-28
Updated: 2011-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-28 07:32:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/305387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim doesn't know how to swim. Two parts: summer time as a child, and learning as an adult.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summer

Sweat trickled down Jim’s spine. The noontime sun beat down from overhead, drying out the dirt under his bare feet. It was too hot to do anything, Jim thought. He couldn’t remember a time when it had ever been so hot. Wiping some sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand, Jim pushed through the tall weeds in the furthest reaches of their backyard. The dry weeds nearly blocked out the back porch of the grey house. A few yards into the weeds and Jim came upon the little stream which still, miraculously, hadn’t dried up. Jim tugged off his sweat-soaked shirt and tossed it over a rock. He dunked his head into the water, which was warm, but a pleasant contrast from the persistent heat overhead. He didn’t know how to swim – Sam was supposed to teach him last summer – so he didn’t venture much further into the stream, which deepened a bit further away. He contented himself with dunking his head and letting the water trickle down his back, cooling as it evaporated. Perched on a little rock, Jim dragged his feet through the water, eyes closed, relaxing.

A series of shouted swears roused Jim from his repose. Startled, Jim jumped up, feet still in the stream. His feet scrambled for purchase on the slippery rocks, but he went down just as Frank came crashing through the parched weeds.

“What the hell are you doing?” Frank demanded. Jim struggled to his feet, soaking wet and head aching from where he fell. “Your mother’s been calling you for half an hour – you don’t ever listen, just laze around, don’t do anything useful – “

Frank advanced on Jim, who tried to back away but slipped again dangerously. Frank grabbed him by the arm.

“Swimming and screwing around when there’s work to be done in the house?” Frank spat, shaking Jim by the arm. “Good for nothing, little bastard – “

Frank forced Jim’s back to bend toward the water, his hand pressing insistently on the back of Jim’s head, fingers pressing painfully into his neck. Jim went down onto his knees hard, struggling to push back against the man’s grip. Frank was stronger, though, and pressed Jim down until his face was submerged. Jim flailed, trying to hold his breath in, but the panic was setting in; he couldn’t loosen Frank’s grip, and water was going up his nose, he didn’t know how long he could hold his breath, his head was starting to spin…

Frank yanked Jim up, shaking him and shouting. Jim could only splutter and gasp for air, limp in the man’s hands. He was pressed down again, cheek scraping against a rock in the shallow water. Jim swallowed a mouthful of water, nearly choking. Frank pulled him up again, slapped Jim hard across the face, then dunked him again. The fight gone out of him, Jim let Frank hold him under, the edges of his consciousness going dark.

Suddenly, Frank’s hand let go, leaving Jim lying face-down in the water. With shaky arms, Jim pushed himself out of the water, collapsing on the edge of the stream. He dimly registered Frank’s feet stomping away from him. Jim wasn’t sure if he could move, his body starved for oxygen. Struggling to retain consciousness, Jim hoped that Frank wouldn’t come back. He let his eyes slide closed, the warmth of the sun on his back now a welcome feeling.


	2. Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bones takes it upon himself to teach Jim how to swim.

“You look like a drowned rat,” Bones commented as Jim stomped into their dorm room. Jim turned an unusually sharp look on the older man. They had only been living together for a few weeks after the shuttle ride from Riverside, but they were getting along fantastically, which was saying something for both of them. The look Jim was giving Bones now was something Bones had never seen before, not even when he threw up on the kid in the shuttle. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jim said, grabbing a towel from the rack. His cadet PT uniform stuck to his body, heavy with moisture. His blond hair was plastered to his head, and he was shivering. Bones’s doctor senses kicked in.

“What happened?”

“Look, I just want to take a hot shower, okay?” Jim snapped. He avoided looking directly at Bones, shutting the bathroom door behind him with a snap. Bones blinked at the bathroom door, wondering what happened at PT that could’ve put Jim in such a mood.

Jim was in the shower for a very long time. After waiting for several long minutes, Bones gave up and went back to studying. Finally, Bones heard the bathroom door slide open again. He didn’t look up, but he kept an ear cocked towards Jim’s side of the room. Jim seemed to have calmed down some; his movements were less snappy, less tense. Bones dared to glance at Jim. The blond was standing by his bed in his boxers, frowning at nothing in particular.

“Bones?” Jim asked suddenly. Bones had given up on getting Jim to call him by his real name not long after they met. He had grown to like the nickname, though only Jim could get away with it. Bones set down his stylus and looked at Jim.

“Yeah?”

Jim hesitated a moment. “D’you know how to swim?” he asked, trying to sound casual. Bones blinked.

“Swim? Like – in a pool or something?”

“Or something,” Jim shrugged. He bent under the pretense of fussing with his bed sheets. Bones tilted his head to the side, studying Jim with a critical eye.

“Sure, I know how to swim. There was a swimming hole behind our house in Georgia,” Bones said, fiddling with his stylus. Jim nodded, still avoiding eye contact.

“Oh, that sounds really nice.”

Bones furrowed his brow. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just – “ Jim made a vague gesture with his hand. “They had us doing swimming drills in PT today.”

“Yeah? It must’ve been cold. It’s too damn cold here.”

“Cold. Yeah.”

“Jim, what the hell happened at PT?” Bones burst out, throwing his stylus down on his desk.

Jim finally turned back around to look at Bones. The expression on Jim’s face was a strange mix of embarrassment, frustration and shame. “I can’t swim.”

Bones blinked. “You can’t swim?”

“No. So – go ahead and laugh. Everyone else did,” Jim turned away again. Bones scrambled up from his desk.

“I’m not going to laugh,” Bones said. He blinked again. “You really can’t swim?”

Jim hunched his shoulders as he straightened some of the mess on his side of the room. Bones started towards Jim, but thought better of it; he’d seen the punches Jim could throw, and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of one of those swings. “So – so you can’t swim. Who cares?”

“Shut up, Bones.”

“No – really. As you so often remind me, Starfleet operates in space,” Bones gave a little involuntary shudder. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to that part. “There’s not a lot of water in space. And there isn’t a pool or anything on those starships we’re supposed to work on. It’s not like a god damn cruise ship or something.”

Jim shut a drawer with a more forceful than necessary snap. He turned to face Bones. “I nearly drowned today. It’s fucking – It’s embarrassing as hell, Bones,” Jim’s hands curled into fists at his side. Bones took a step back.

“Then I’ll teach you.”

“You’ll – what?”

“I’ll teach you, Jim. It’s easy – and I won’t let you drown, I’m a doctor.”

Jim blinked. “You’d teach me?”

Bones shrugged. “Sure.”

Jim looked at Bones for a several long moments, his blue eyes seemingly searching deep into Bones’s hazel ones. Finally, Jim relented, his hands relaxing at his sides. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Fine!”

***

The subject of swimming lessons didn’t come up again for several days. Bones figured that Jim’s PT had moved on from water-related activities, and that it wouldn’t be a problem any more. He did not count on Jim accosting him after a late night at the hospital.

“Bones, grab your suit,” Jim said. He was already dressed in those tight exercise shorts the Academy issued to first year cadets. Bones was pretty sure it was some sort of institutional hazing ritual.

“My – suit?” Bones looked around for a clock. “What time is it? Is the pool even open?”

“No,” Jim said, going to dig through Bones’s drawers.

“You do realize that it’s after ten and it’s freezing outside right? “

“I have the code for the aquatic center,” Jim said, thrusting Bones’s trunks at him. Bones blinked at Jim for a few moments.

“Did your instructor give you the code?”

“No.”

“Jim!”

“Look – I need to learn this. I’m not gonna do it when other people are around, so it’s either this way or I drown in PT,” Jim folded his arms over his chest, a hard look coming over his face.

“Fine! Fine – Christ, if we get caught and I get kicked out, I swear to god, Jim – “

“You won’t get kicked out. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Oh yeah? How d’you propose to do that?”

“I’ll take the blame,” Jim shrugged. “Are you coming or not?”

Bones snatched his shorts out of Jim’s hands. “I said fine,” he grumbled, stomping into the bathroom to pull on his shorts.

Twenty minutes later, Bones nervously stood behind Jim while he appeared to hack into the security of the aquatic center on campus. He kept up a steady stream of empty threats and swears until Jim pushed open the side door triumphantly. Bones stepped inside, comically wary.

“Nobody’s gonna jump out at you, Bones,” Jim said. Bones startled.

“Damn it, Jim! Don’t sneak up on me!”

“I was right behind you the whole time!”

“Just – get in the pool. Let’s get this over with,” Bones said, looking around the darkened aquatic center nervously. Jim went to the wall and tapped a few buttons on the console, bringing up some dim lights. “I don’t want to know how you knew how to do that.”

“Captain Pike said it best – the only genius level repeat offender in the Midwest,” Jim said, flashing a brief grin at Bones, but he could see that Jim was tense underneath it all. Jim tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. “Are we doing this or are you just going to stand there and freak out?”

“Shut up and get in the pool,” Bones said, pulling his own shirt off. Jim regarded the pool with a frown. “It’s not gonna bite, Jim.”

“No, but it might kill me.”

Bones softened. “Not while I’m here. Come on, use the steps and stay in the shallow end where you can stand.”

Jim narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you go soft on me either,” he said, but he went to the shallow end and waded into the water slowly, keeping a hand on the edge at all times. Bones slid into the water from the edge of the pool, sinking underneath the water. He resurfaced a few moments later, popping up next to Jim.

“First thing’s first - Can you float?” Bones asked. Jim shrugged and shook his head.

“Not really, I don’t think.”

“Well, here – “ Bones moved a little away from Jim. “You lie out on your back, arch a little, like this – “ Bones floated on his back to show Jim, who had his tongue set between his teeth in a thoughtful look that was fast becoming familiar. “Just try it Jim.”

Jim hesitated a moment and then started leaning back. His fingers gripped the edge of the pool, his knuckles going white.

“Easy, Jim, I’m right here –“

“Shut up, I’m not five.”

Bones edged closer to Jim anyway, just in case. “You have to let go from the edge, Jim.”

“I’m getting there! Shut up.”

“You wanted me to teach you, so I’m gonna teach you. Let go of the edge.”

Jim finally let go of the edge and started sinking almost immediately. He flailed, splashing Bones before finding his footing on the bottom of the pool. Bones held out an arm to steady him but Jim batted it away, glaring. “Try again, Jim,” Bones said.

“Well, I’m not gonna give up either,” Jim grumbled.

An hour or two later, Jim was making progress. He could float and was paddling around a bit awkwardly, and he was starting to venture out of the shallow end. If Bones could say one thing about Jim, it was that he was a fast, determined learner.

“So, why didn’t you ever learn how to swim as a kid?” Bones asked, floating alongside Jim as they worked their way across the pool. Jim tensed and sank a bit, but managed to stay afloat with a little flail.

“Um,” Jim said once he was floating safely again. “I nearly drowned one summer. I didn’t… I didn’t really feel like learning after that.”

Jim’s face was closed off and hard, so Bones didn’t press the issue. They spent the next hour concentrating on swimming rather than talking. Jim concentrated intensely, never seeming to tire. Eventually, Bones suggested they call it a night.

“We have class in the morning, Jim, we have to get some sleep,” Bones said, watching Jim paddle back and forth from the edge of the pool. Jim didn’t seem to hear Bones. “We’ll have another lesson some other day – come on.”

Jim paddled back to the shallow end and stood up. “Yeah, alright,” he said. He climbed out of the pool and picked up his towel. Bones followed, keeping an eye on Jim. He thought there was something Jim wasn’t telling him, but he didn’t want to press, and he knew they were both exhausted. The two of them trudged back to their dorm in comfortable silence. They both slept deeply that night.

***

Bones never could predict when Jim was going to ask for another lesson. Days would go by, Jim acting like the cocky, womanizing genius he was, with no mention of swimming lessons. Then Jim would come in one night with an intense look on his face and ask Bones if he’d accompany him to the Academy’s aquatic center. Over a two week period, Jim had come a long way. He still wasn’t the most elegant swimmer, but he could tread water and swim laps. He was tireless, he was determined, and he had something to prove. Bones almost didn’t have to come to the pool with him now, but he came anyway, because Jim asked. Now, he sat on the edge of the pool, dragging his feet in the water and watching Jim swim laps. Jim paused near Bones, treading water with some effort.

“You’re getting better, Jim,” Bones nodded.

“Thanks,” Jim said. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You should’ve just learned like every other kid,” Bones made a face. “That way you wouldn’t have almost drowned and you could spend your nights chasing girls rather than spending hours listening to me.”

Jim looked at Bones sharply. Bones blinked, realizing too late that he had said something wrong. Jim was already swimming away from him. The blond climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel, facing away from Bones, shoulders hunched.

“Jim – I – “ Bones started to say after several moment of a tense silence. Jim inhaled and took a deep breath before turning around to face the older man.

“My older brother was supposed to teach me to swim, but he ran away from home before he did,” Jim said, his voice oddly flat. “I was playing by the stream near our backyard, and my stepfather… He held me under, ah, under the water.”  
There was a long silence in which Jim avoided Bones’s eyes. He rubbed at his skin with the towel until it was red.

“Jesus, Jim,” Bones breathed.

“So, I never learned to swim,” Jim said, rubbing the back of his neck with his towel. Bones shifted uncomfortably. Jim turned away again to pull on his shirt. They left shortly after, the tension thick between them.

***

It was a couple days before they had another lesson. Jim was quietly intense throughout the evening, pushing himself until Bones stopped them. The next couple lessons followed a similar pattern. One night, Jim paused after several laps.

“There’s a test,” Jim said, standing in the shallow end.

“When?”

“In a couple days.”

“You’ll be fine, Jim – You’ve come so far.”

Jim shifted a bit, dragging his hands through the water. “Yeah,” he dove back in for move laps. Bones watched him swim.

“Jim? Jim – c’mon, we should get some sleep,” Bones said after a half an hour or so. Jim paused and shook his head.

“You go ahead, Bones.”

“You’re going to tire yourself out, Jim. You need to rest, or else you’re not going to have enough stamina for the test,” Bones said.

“Fine, yeah.”

Jim took on that same quiet intensity in his daily mood in the days leading up to the test. Bones gave Jim a wide berth, unsure if he’d snap at him should Bones say the wrong thing at the wrong moment. He had his own exams to worry about, but he found himself fretting about Jim and his test.

The day of the test finally came, but Bones didn’t see Jim all day. He had a shift at the hospital that night, and didn’t come back until the next morning, but Jim had already gone for classes. That evening, Jim trudged in late. Bones was hunched over a lab report, moments away from tugging out his hair. He looked up to see Jim was carrying a couple bags.

“Jim?”

Jim set the bags on his desk and pulled out several liquor bottles. Bones’s heart sank. “Shit – Jim, it’s okay, I’m sure they’ll let you test again – “

Jim turned around, holding out a bottle of good bourbon to Bones. “Test again? What – no, Bones, I aced it,” he said. He handed the bottle to Bones. “I didn’t know what kind you liked, but I remember you saying it was your favorite, and… I just wanted to say… Thanks, Bones.”

Bones blinked at Jim. The intensity was gone from his face, replaced by a soft, almost vulnerable earnestness Bones had never seen before. “Ah – I didn’t really do much –“

Jim gave a little half-shrug. “I couldn’t do it without you,” Jim said sincerely. Bones took the bottle after a moment.

“Well,” Bones said, glancing at the label. It was an excellent, expensive bourbon. He looked back at Jim, going for a gruff approach. “You did all the hard work.” He got up to get a couple glasses and some ice. “I’m not drinking this alone. Have a seat – we’ll have a proper celebration.”

Jim sat down dutifully, looking incredibly more relaxed than he had in the last few weeks. Bones handed Jim a glass, raising his own. “Congrats, Jim. You were gonna pass even without my help,” he said. Jim made a face, but a smile was pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Thanks, Bones,” he said, putting his feet up. Bones flopped down next to him.

“You’re gonna start swimming circles around me if you keep up at it,” Bones said, taking a sip. The alcohol was smooth and warm and delicious. Jim smiled.

“I think I will,” he said, swirling the ice in his glass a bit. “It’s nice, the water. It’s like the anti-gravity simulators, but much more comfortable.”

Bones shook his head. “No, it’s better.”

Jim’s smile widened. “Much better.”


End file.
